Casualties (pt 1)
by tailinyan
Summary: And suddenly, throughout symphaty, guilt, sadness, anger and a desire to exploit her gift... he felt something different. Clear as the water, loud as a thunder. His heart fluttered in his chest. Similarity. They were of the same kin. / a collection of Rapunzel/Megamind drabbles, exploring a different course of Megamind's action.


**Disclaimer** : I do not own Megamind or Tangled, nor am I associated with either Dreamworks or Disney.

She's been here like forever.

The first and only thing she remembers clearly from that day is a high, ear- piercing noise which frightened her so much she couldn't even scream. Occasional dimly flickering lights were sucked by blackness so deep and overwhelming, she wasn't sure if the reason was the night or her own eyelids shutting down her vision instinctively for safety. Then, there was silence. It seemed to take forever. She couldn't remember her thoughts at all but the sensation of shockingly warm hands picking her up made her feel safe and somewhat dumbfounded. They were much slenderer than what she was used to but they couldn't hold her tighter.  
The next thing she remembers quite clearly is waking up to the smell of leather, fuel and scrumbled eggs. She looked around and realized she was surrounded by unfamiliarity; lots of rusted metal parts, spikes, tools and... drawings? A thick pile of neat sketches was placed on a desk along with memorial (?) oddities. They seemed more like scruffy blueprints but somewhat she sensed they carried an emotional value. Aaaand they seemed to had been drawn by a kid! Maybe she could get along with them!  
She stood up and looked at herself. She doesn't remember what she was wearing but it definitely didn't feel good. She wished she could have something soft to dress like a long nightgown or a nice huge sweater. This wasn't her room though and she was sure the owner didn't have any girly clothes- not only did the furnishing yelled with its tiny spikes and blackish covering- but also, judging by the owner's apparent interests in deadly mechanisms... they were a he. When she turned around, she discovered she had been sleeping on a black leathered sofa which despite looking uninvitingly, was actually pretty comfortable. A blue t-shirt laying on its arm caught her eye. It seemed to had been placed here for her to change. She reached for it and noticed it had a silly logo drawn on it with a permanent marker: an M enclosed between two bolts. She snorted with giggle. She couldn't explain why she wasn't scared at all. If the owner was malicious, he would've treated her much less pleasantly than this.  
"Oh, you're up!"  
She raised her head to the door but saw nobody. She frowned.  
"Yes, I've just woken up! Who are you?"  
He responded her with a silence. An older- teenage male voice. She could tell he was here somewhere but none of them dared to move. After a few long seconds, she looked at the t- shirt.  
"Is this for me?", she asked. She sensed he was still hesitant to answer. "You know, the shirt. I found it laying just next to - "  
"-Yes!", he interrupted. "Yes, it's for you. Your clothes are partially torn because of my STUPID experiment- ", he stressed that word as if he was scolding himself, "-and I wanted to make it up for you. I'm so, SO sorry for this... You can use the bathroom if you wish, it's... you know, the other doors. Minion said he even brought you a toothbrush."  
She remembered the scraps of memories from the day before. So the sound and the blackness... And the hands, right? The warm hads which took care of her. So the fright was unnecessary. Unintentional. An accident. And she's safe now, unharmed. She felt SO relieved.  
"Oh, thank you!", she cheered. "I'll take a shower in a moment... Can I see you first though? I... well, I don't bite! I swear!"  
There was another sound of hesitation. She didn't know if to force it right now, especially that apparently her own appearance left a lot to be desired.  
"... It's... I guess it's okay. I may look appalling right now, heh!", she smiled warmly, knowing that the best way to encourage him to speak would be not to push. Give him space, it'll be just fine. "Before I go wash... May I know your name?"  
A few seconds passed before she heard a mutter "...Megamind."  
"Oh, that's one cool name!", she exclaimed. "And it really explains the sketches that lay on your desk. I mean, you sure are a genius, aren't you! Your parents must have known you're brainy."  
She was pulling a few strings here but she really didn't mean any harm. She wanted to make friends and she hoped this was the right way to beat his shyness. Besides, she was astounded by his drawing talent so far, so why not openly admire someone who apparently needs a self- esteem boost? She found herself lost in thought with art when an abrupt but hesitant question reached her ears.  
"What's yours?"  
"Wh...mine?"  
"Your name."  
It took her a moment to gather her thoughts. "Rapunzel. It's a rather silly name, you know", she laughed, "Hard to write, harder to pronounce and impossible to remember. Just... just call me Puns."  
"Rapunzel. I remembered."  
"Oh", she giggled, "Thanks! But Puns is for friends."  
His whole posture lightened up, she just knew it. Rapunzel turned around, checked on the friendly stranger once more, hoping he'd reveal himself in the last moment, but apparently he really wanted to wait. She closed the door behind her, looked at her reflection in the mirror and thought she didn't look half bad. Of course, her dress was torn in a few not- uncomfortable places, but she didn't have any visible injuries. She was eleven now and she was proud of the fact (officially a teenager, right?), but her hair have started causing trouble. The strands were long past ankle- length and combing them took forever; not to mention washing and drying. When she stepped out of the shower, brushed her teeth and wrapped her hair in a long ponytail not to dumpen the t- shirt given to her, she pulled the cloth on. The shirt was too big, it reached her mid- calves, but she didn't care. It smelled nice.  
Rapunzel left the room and instantly noticed a fact she missed before: there were no windows in the building. The lamps made it so bright it almost resembled the sunlight but they definitely couldn't imitate it. She begun wondering about possibilities of her current location when she heard a noise from downstairs. She decided to sneak closer before revealing herself.  
"...do anything. The whole front was smashed."  
"It's so unlike him, Sir! Isn't he the one who tries to protect everybody?"  
"I know, right?! But of course, it's all MY fault because it was wrecked with MY machine! I... I tried to catch it with the other hand but... uh, but it was just too late."  
"Sir, you really shouldn't be so emotional now, you're injured. You should let me finish, take the medications and rest."  
"He tore my mech and made me a murderer now. Perfect. It's all perfect."  
"Not really a murderer, Sir... There's no evidence, there's no car. There's only a family missing, but I doubt they-"  
"It's not about THEM, Minion. The girl survived.", his voice broke down, "I have NO idea how to make it up for her. I've NEVER meant..."  
They heard a noise coming from the stairs. A blue, big- headed guy and a gorilla- looking cyborg fish turned their heads slowly, discovering a big- eyed blonde girl peeping at them curiously. Minion's hands were touching Megamind's bare chest as he held his shirt half- up.  
It couldn't have been more awkward.  
Oh, wait. It could.  
The two silently watched as the girl approached them slowly. She noticed that the alien's chest was deeply scraped, the wounds examined by the weird- looking hybrid. She untied her hair and looked at Minion with her trusting green eyes.  
"Can I see it?"  
Minion was so dumbfounded, he just removed his hands, trying to stutter a coherent sentence. Rapunzel started wrapping her hair around Megamind's chest. The alien's expression was one of a kind; he was angry at her invading his personal space but this emotion was stifled by astoundment and shame. When she considered it finished, she started muttering a silent song. Megamind wanted to react but just as he parted his lips, Rapunzel's hair started glowing so bright his jaw just dropped. He felt warmth around his broken ribs, first causing a faint pain, then turning into a caress. The whole thing lasted just for a moment but he could never possibly forget this. Never in his life has he seen such a thing (and 18 years of life is a lot when you're an alien fighting another alien) and it seemed Minion could relate. Rapunzel gathered her hair, pulled it back and smiled warmly.  
Megamind's eyes were screaming with confusion. He took a deep breath and understood there was no more pain in his chest. This would explain the length of the hair, she wouldn't want to get rid of such a gift... Oh, how useful it could be! Metro Man could fly, was super- strong, had laser eyes, super senses, was immune to physical injuries... No wonder Megamind had trouble fighting him when just a slap from that super- idiot broke his bones. This girl... this girl could at least even the chances. Keeping her here would spare Minion so many duties and instead of laying weak for weeks, they would get back to work instantly- that was an INGENIOUS plan, truly- if she only was older then her parents wouldn't...  
...and then it hit him. She had no parents. He had just killed both.  
He looked her in the eyes with the saddest and most painful expression.  
"How... why did you..."  
"You treated me well, I wanted to say thank you."  
 _Treated me well?!_ He had just killed her parents, goddamit!~  
He looked at Minion and read from his lips. The "forget- me- spray". Oh, sure. No wonder she was so cheerful, she didn't even remember she ever HAD parents- that surely didn't remove his sin but definitely made the whole thing easier to handle... That spray was another dumb experiment as it removed only the people from the memory which wasn't particularly useful (everybody always knew he was the one responsible anyway). He had no intention of revealing the truth to her, not now at least. This had to be arranged carefully. Initially he wanted to place her in Orphanage anonymously but now he desired having her here. Her hair were somewhat like his very own brain; a burden and a curse- a treasure to be hidden. A thing she didn't want the public to know as she'd be stalked, bullied, torn apart. Her parents must have known. She must have been home- schooled- not having had friends before would be the reason of her being so eager to make ones with him and Minion now. Also the hair... sure the teachers and peers wouldn't have understood. They never understand.  
And suddenly, throughout symphaty, guilt, sadness, anger and a desire to exploit her gift... he felt something different. Clear as the water, loud as a thunder. His heart fluttered in his chest. Similarity. They were of the same kin.

Years passed. Their relationship might have started a bit bumpy but her eagerness and dedication always made it up for his mistakes. She got her own room, Minion has always taken care of her clothes and art supplies as she seemed to be very talented and enjoy drawing as much as Megamind enjoyed constructing. There were a couple of times Minion caught himself smiling at a thought that he's being their parent. Cooking, doing the laundry, assisting them, encouraging them; they were a joy to look at and their enthusiasm and dedication were what he loved about them the most. They could team up really well and with time, Puns joined them at planning. She took care of the visual aspects which she loved doing, especially designing Megamind's outfits with Minion. Megamind would give her inspirations for drawings with his epic battles and he affected her music taste which also applied to her art. Together the three of them were invincible and despite occasional arguments, they got along amazingly well. Rapunzel has never left the building; she may have wanted it but once she saw the news and realized how dangerous it was out there, they all decided it would be for her best to stay in. When she hit 18, she had a dream party with just the three of them, a thousand of brainbots making a show, Megamind and Minion having prepared a bunch of gags; and she was given a pile of art supplies which filled a whole room next to her own. Soon the walls of the secret hideout were covered in beautiful paintings full of life and epicness, just as he loved it the most. Megamind adored seeing her so happy and would do everyday simple things to trigger that smile- not only because she felt like his sister but also because he had a memory of having killed her parents all those years ago. He couldn't ever forgive himself.

It was an ordinary day when it happened, really. Rapunzel had combed her hair as usual and was dressed in her normal everyday "comfy- not- pretty" outfit when she started mixing the ingredients in the kitchen. She knew how the boys loved her carrot cake, especially after having screwed up in killing Metro Man again. She was 23 now- how could those years pass so hastily- and her hair have been all around the place. The TV was on as the station was transmitting live from the kidnapping, Rapunzel couldn't possibly miss the grand battle.  
She hummed happily and started pouring the raw mixture into a metal form.  
The TV went silent and she only realized it after a couple of seconds.  
She raised her eyes thinking she must've accidentally muted the TV but as soon as she saw the picture, she instantly forgot everything. There was a closeup of Megamind's face on the screen next to the museum of Metro Man. The crowd was silent as if they waited for something. She'd seen Megamind so astonished only once in her life: right after she healed him for the first time. She put the pot down and waited with the wole rest of Metro City.

"I... I won."

It was all he could say.


End file.
